The Los Angeles Dodgers are implementing a bold plan for Shohei Ohtani, focusing on his pitching for the remainder of the 2026 season. Ohtani currently boasts an impressive ERA below 1.00.
Dodgers have a bold Shohei Ohtani pitching plan for rest of 2026 season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are once again one of the best teams in Major League Baseball, and that's even with the team missing a few very big contributors like Mookie Betts, Edwin Diaz, and Blake Snell.
But another noteworthy change this year has been the emergence of Shohei Ohtani as a full-time pitcher. He's been great, as his ERA is below 1.00 at the moment. That's very impressive and is a reason for confidence in his pitching abilities this year.
And amid such a strong start, ESPN's Jeff Passan revealed that the Dodgers have a bold plan with Ohtani and his pitching this season. The Dodgers are planning for Ohtani to focus on his pitching this year.
Shohei Ohtani currently has an ERA below 1.00 in the 2026 season.
The Dodgers plan for Shohei Ohtani to focus primarily on his pitching for the rest of the 2026 season.
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"I think they want Shohei Ohtani to pitch a full season for the first time in almost half a decade now," Passan said. "... He's been absolutely brilliant on the mound this year."
This explanation from Passan is noteworthy because the Dodgers' turning to Ohtani as a full-time pitcher likely means his offense will take a step back.
When he's been a full-time pitcher in the past, his offense has dipped. But, with how stacked the Dodgers' lineup is, using Ohtani as a starter this year makes sense.
He has a 0.97 ERA this season across six starts with 42 strikeouts and a 0.81 WHIP in 37 innings pitched. He's been incredible for the Dodgers.
Using him as a full-time pitcher makes sense. His offense won't disappear, as he will still be a decent hitter overall even if he's a full-time pitcher.
And more importantly, there's a lot more uncertainty regarding his health when it comes to pitching than hitting. He couldn't pitch in his first year with the Dodgers, but he was an offensive presence.
Now that he's finally able to pitch in a full-time capacity, it makes sense that the Dodgers will focus most of their efforts on his pitching this year.
And besides, if this current offensive production, an .831 OPS with six homers and a .248 average in 129 at-bats, is his bad production, then there should be no qualms over Ohtani focusing on being a pitcher this year.